Electric lantern



June 1 1926. 1,586,616

I w. c. EMBURY ET AL ELECTRIC LANTERN Filed August 24. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1 1926. 1,586,616

w. c. EMBURY ET AL v ELECTRIC LANTERN Filed August 24, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 chrome Patented June 1, 1926.

' UNITED STATES WILLIAM c. mummy AND PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CHAMBERLAIN, OF WARSAW, NEW YORK, AS-

SIGNORS TO EMBURY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 01 WARSAW, NEW YORK, A

CORPORATION OF- NEW YORK,

ELECTRIC LANTERN.

Application filed August 24, 1925. Serial No. 51,968.

The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved construction for an electric lantern to make such a lantern adaptable for railroad work, for use by conductors, inspectors, etc.

This and other objects of the invention will be fully illustrated in the drawings, described in the specification and pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the electric lantern.

Figure 2 is a horizontaL sectional view of the lantern, the section being taken on the line 2", 2" of Figure 4.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the battery magazine of the lantern.

Figure A is a vertical sectional view of the upper section of the lantern, the section being taken on the line 4". 4* of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a to plan view of the battery magazine of the antern.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the battery magazme after the batteries have been removed from it, the section being taken on the line 6", 6* of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is an elevation of a modified form of the electric lantern.

In the several figures of the drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts.

The electric lantern forming the subject matter of this invention is especially useful where a combined searchlight and electric lantern is desirable. This is the case in railroad work when inspecting cars, and in fact, in all cases where either a strong beam of light is to be concentrated on a esired point or a large area must be illuminated by means of a lantern. The lantern illustrated serves both purposes being constructed in a manner that will ermit the handling of it in any way desired.

As illustrated in the figures of the drawings, the lantern com rises a cylindrical casing 1 having an en arged space 2 provided at the bottom thereof. The casing 1 is closed at the bottom but is open at the top where it is closed by the cover 3. This cover telescopes over the open end of the casing 1 and has the incandescent light 4, glass dome 5 and switch 6 mounted thereon. The cover is held locked to the casing by means of the thumb nuts 7 and 8 that are threaded to the studs 9 and 10 which project from the casing 1 where they are mounted to the inner wall thereof. When the thumb nuts are threaded in place they fasten the cover on top of the casing and seal it so that no moisture can enter the casing and set up electrolosis between the batteries and the casing and shorten the life of the batteries in consequence thereof.

The inside of the casing 1 is lined with an insulating paper 11 such as a fibre paper of sufficient thickness. This insulating layer passes over the studs. 9 and 10 on the inside of the casing as illustrated in Figure 2 to electrically insulate the inside of the casing from the metal from which the casing is formed.

Within the casing is located the magazine holding the dry cells of the battery. This ma azme consists of the heads or flanges 12 an 13 that are suitably spaced apart by the spacing bars 14, 15 and 16. These bars are formed of flat bar stock and are grouped in a triangular formation close to the center of the heads 12 and 13 between which they are mounted. The spacing bars are fastened to the heads 12 and 13 by means of the upturned ends of these bars which provide flan es that can be readily riveted to the hea s. r I

As will be seen from an inspection of Figures 5 and 6 the flan es of the spacing bars that are fastened to t e heads 12 and 13 pro ject in one direction at one end of the bar and in the opposite direction at the other end of the bar. This is for the purpose of using the spacing bars for the electrical connection between the individual cells so as to connect these cells in series with one another. To accomplish this the flanges attached to the head 13 have a short section struck up forming an elevation on each of these flanges. The flanges at the upper end of the spacing bars 15 and 16 that are attached to the head 12 have the spring fingers 17 and 18 fastened thereto with one end thereof. As will be seen from an inspection of Figure 5 the flange provided at the up er end of the s acing bar 14 is short an has no spring- -A third spring finger 19, however, is pronger attached thereto.

vided but is attached with one end thereofto the flange 20 which flange is attached to the head 12 independently of the spacing bars.

Attached to the short flange of the spacing bar 14 is the contact 21 which passes thru the head 12 and projects slightly above it. A similar contact 22 is attached to the flange 20 which also projects above the head 12. These two contacts form the terminals for the battery after the cells are placed into the magazine. On an inspection of the Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 and6 it will be seen that in placing three cells 23, 24 and 25 into the magazine, the positive terminal 26 of the cell 24 makes contact with the spring finger 17 of the spacing bar 16 while its negative terminal formed by the bottom of the cell rests on the elevation provided on the lower flange of the spacing bar 15. The cell 25 in turn is held in place between the spring finger 18 of the spacing bar 15 and the elevation of the lower flange of the spacing bar 14, so that the, positive terminal 27 of the cell makes contact with the spring finger 18 while its negative terminal formed by the-bottom of the cell 25 makes contact with the lower flange of the spacing bar 14. As the spacing bar 14 has but a short flange at the top to which the contact 21 is attached the negative side of the cell 25 is connected to the contact 21 thru the spacing bar 14. The cell 23 as shown is located between the spring fingers 19 and the lower flange of the spacing bar 16. In this way the positive terminal 28 of this cell is connected to the contact 22 while the negative side of the cell rests on and makes contact with the lower flange of the spacing bar 16 connecting this cell in series with the cells 24 and 25 with a negative end terminal for the battery formed by these cells provided by the contact 21 and the positive end terminal formed by the contact 22 as above described.

The heads 12 and 13 are, of course, made up of an insulating material to electrically insulate all of the spacing bars and contacts from each other and allow the electric current from the cells to pass only thru the spacing bars, their flanges and spring fingers. The spacing bars are insulated from the sides of the cells of the battery by a layer 30 of thin insulating material that is wound around the spacing bars 14, 15 and 16 as illustrated in section in Figure 6.

As illustrated in Figures 2, 5 and 6, the heads 12 and 13 each have a V shaped slot cut into the periphery thereof. These V shaped slots are in line with each other and serve to locate the battery magazine in a predetermined position in the lantern 1. For this purpose the inside casing of the wall is provided with a V shaped vertical ridge 31. This ridge extends practically the full height of the inside of the casing and is adapted to project into the V shaped slots provided in the periphery of the heads of the battery magazine. When the magazine is, therefore, inserted into the casing it must be done with the V shaped slots of the magazine in line with the V shaped ridge within the casing so that as the magazine enters the casing it will be guided by the ridge and held against rotation or displacement after it has been located therein.

.To hold the magazine locked in place against endwise movement within the easing the swinging dog 32 is provided. This dog is hook shaped and being formed of a 1 wire that is suitably pivoted at 33 on top of 12 as illustrated in Fig-\ the magazine head ures 2 and 5. The free end of the dog 32 is curved and in swinging from the position illustrated in Figure 5 to the position illustrated in Figure 2 engages into suitable holes in the sides of the V shaped ridge 31 and thus locks the battery magazine to the casing so that it cannot again be removed until the dog 32 has been disengaged from the V shaped ridge 31. This also prevents the battery magazine from shifting within the casing when the lantern is in use no mat.- ter in what position the lantern is held.

In order to make it easy to withdraw the battery magazine from within the casing l of the lantern for the purpose of replacing one or more of the cells of the battery the upper head 12 of the magazine is notched at 60 and 61 so that two fingers can be inserted into these notches to grip the top of the magazine and it has been released by the dog 32 as above described.

The cover 3 of the casing is put in place after the battery magazine has been inserted therein and is fastened to the casing by the thumb nuts 7 and 8. In locating the magazine 1n a predetermined position within the casing as above described, the contacts 21 and 22 are positioned therein with relation to the switch 6 mounted in the cover. This switch-comprises a contact finger 35 which is mounted on the inside of the cover as lustrated in section in Figure 4. The end of this contact finger is located abovethe end of the contact 22 of the battery magazine but normally does not .,make contact therewith. The contact finger, however, can be forced in contact with the contact 22 by means of the sliding pin 36 forming part of the switch 6. This pin rests with its lower end against the shoulder 37 struck up from the contact finger 35. The upper end of the pin 36 projects thru the cover and has a switch handle 38 in the form of a loop bent up thereon. The free end of the loop forming the handle 38 projects into the inclined cam slot 39 provided in the lug 40. When the handle 38 is rocked the end projecting into the inclined cam slot 39 is forced downwardly in this slot so that the handle 38 and pull it out of the caslng after the pin 36 on which the handle is formed is depressed and forces the outer end of the contact finger into engagement with the contact 22. This completes one side of the electric circuit for lighting the incandescent light of the lantern.

The other side of the electric circuit which is connected to the contact 21 of the battery magazine is connected to this contact by the spring finger 41. This spring finger is attached to the lower end of the connecting bar 42 and is normally kept in constant contact with the contact 21 by reason of the. spring action'of this contact finger.

The connecting bar 42 is attached to the socket 43 which socket is mounted in the dome 44 of the cover 3. Within the cover 3 is provided the insulating head 45 which serves to support and guide the parts of the switch 6 within the cover and keeps the contact fingers 41 and'35 electrically insulated from each other.

The contact finger 35 of the switch is electrically connected to the cover 3 so that the coverforms part of the electric circuit leading from the switch to the socket 43. The other part of the circuit is formed by the connecting bar 42 which leads-from the contact finger 41 to the socket 43. Surrounding the socket 43 is a sleeve 45 which forms part. of the reflector 46. This sleeve is adapted to slide upsor down on the outside of the socket 43 so that the focal position of the incandescent light within the reflector ma be changed at will as illustrated in dotted iines in Figure 4.

The incandescent lamp, its socket 43 and reflector 46 are enclosed in a small glass dome 5. This dome has a thread 48 cast on the outside of the open end thereof. It also has a lens 49 cast integral with the top of the glass dome as illustrated in Figure 4. The threaded end of the glass dome is threaded into the threaded flange 50 surrounding the dome 44 of the cover 3 of which it forms a part. In this way the battery, light and reflector are tightly enclosed, the battery by the casing 1 and its cover and the light and reflector by the glass dome-5S0 that no moisture can enter and short circuit the connection.

For handling the lantern a bail 51 is provided and this bail has hooked shaped ends formed thereon that engage the ears 52 and 53 to allow the bail to swing thereon. Each of the ears is provided at the side with a vertical groove 54 which is adapted to hold the bail in an upright position when the lower ends thereof are allowed to engage thereinf In addition to the bail 51 the lantern is also provided with a pair of'handles 55 and 56. These handles are pivoted with one side in the hinge or pivot plate 57 so that they can be swung to either lay snug against the casing 1 tend away from the casing as illustrated at the right in Figure 1, which latter position as illustrated in Figure 2 or ex-' both of the handles can be gripped with one hand andthe lantern handled by means of them.

In Figure 7 the lantern is illustrated in a slightly modified form namely with the light of the lantern located at the bottom of the casing instead of at the top. In this form the lantern is provided with a wire frame 62 which surrounds the glass dome and projects below it so as to form a base for the lantern.

We claim:

1. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine comprising a. pair of heads, spacing bars connecting said heads, electric cells placed between said heads, said spacing bars connecting the negative side of oneof said cells with the positive side of the adjacent of said cells, positioning means within said casing adapted to position said battery magazine within said casing and prevent its rotation within said casing, and a locking dog carried by said battery magazine adapted to lock. said magazine against endwise movement within said casing.

2. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine comprising a pair of heads, spacing bars connecting said heads, electric cells placed between said heads, said spacing bars connecting the negative side of one of said cells, with the positive side of the adjacent of said cells, positioning means within said casing adapted to position said battery magazine within said casing and prevent its rotation within said casing, and a locking dog carried by said battery magazine adapted to lock said magazine against endwise movement within said casing, a 'cover for said casing, a switch mounted on said cover, a glass dome threaded on said cover, a socket mounted centrally of said cover within said glass dome, a reflector surrounding said socket.

' 3. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine comprising a pair of heads, spacing bars connecting said heads, electric cells placed between said heads, said spacing bars connecting the negative side of one of said cells with the positive side of the adjacent of said cells, positioning means within said casing adapted to position said battery magazine within said casing and prevent its rotation within said casing, and a locking dog carried by said battery magazine adapted to lock said magazine against endwise movement within said casing, a cover vfor said casing, a-switch mounted on said cover, a glass dome threaded on said cover, a socket mounted centrally of said cover within said glass dome, a reflector surrounding said socket, said reflector being adapted to shift on said socket and change the focal position of the incandescent light mounted in said socket within said reflector.

4. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine mounted Within said casing, means for holding said magazine against rotation Within said casing, and means for holding said magazine against endwise movement Within said casing, a pair of contacts provided on top of said magazine, a cover for said casing, a pair of spring fingers mounted Within said cover, one of said spring fingers being adapted to constantly make contact with one of said contacts on said battery magazine, and means for moving or releasing said other spring finger'from the other of said contacts of said battery magazine.

5. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine mounted within said casing, means for bold ing said magazine against rotation Within said casing, and means for holding said magazine against endwise movement Within said casing, a pair of contacts provided on top of said magazine, a cover for said casing, a pair of spring fingers mounted Within said cover, one of said spring fingers being adapted to constantly make contact with one of said contacts on "said battery magazine, and means for moving or releasing said other spring finger from the other of said contacts of said batterymagazine, a glass dome carried by said cover, a magnifying lens cast into the end of said dome, a socket mounted on said cover within said glass dome, said socket having two terminals, one of said'spring fingers being electrically connected with one of the terminals of said socket and the other of said spring fingers being electrically connected With the other of. said terminals of said socket.

(3. In an electric lantern, the combination of a casing, a removable battery magazine mounted within said casing, a vertical ridge formed on the inner wall of said casing, a corresponding roove formed on the periphery of said battery magazine, said ridge within said casing being adapted to engage said groove of said battery magazine to guide arid hold said battery magazine within said casing, means formed on said magazine adapted for gripping it during the insertion or Withdrawal of the magazine, a locking dog locking said magazine against endwise movement within said casing after it has been inserted therein, a cover for said casing, a switch provided on said cover, a socket mounted on said cover, said switch operating to control the current from the battery magazine to said socket, a glass dome mounted on said cover and surrounding said socket, a bail pivoted to said casing, and a pair of handles pivoted to the outside of said casing, said pair of handles being adapted to'either lay snugly against the outside of said casing or project away from it.

' In testimony whereof We atfix our signatures.

WILLIAM C. EMBURY. WILLIAM H. CHAMBERLAIN.

provided on said magazine for. 

